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Two Mechanisms to Avoid Control Conflicts Resulting from Uncoordinated Intent

Friday, 01 March 2013

This software implements a real-time
access control protocol that is intended
to make all connected users aware of
the presence of other connected users,
and which of them is currently in control
of the system. Here, “in control”
means that a single user is authorized
and enabled to issue instructions to the
system.

The software also implements a goal
scheduling mechanism that can detect
situations where plans for the operation
of a target system proposed by different
users overlap and interact in conflicting
ways. In such situations, the system can
either simply report the conflict (rejecting
one goal or the entire plan), or
reschedule the goals in a way that does
not conflict.

The access control mechanism (and
associated control protocol) is unique.
Other access control mechanisms are
generally intended to authenticate
users, or exclude unauthorized access.
This software does neither, and would
likely depend on having some other
mechanism to support those requirements.

This work was done by Andrew H.
Mishkin, Daniel L. Dvorak, David A.
Wagner, and Matthew B. Bennett of Caltech
for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

This software is available for commercial
licensing. Please contact Dan Broderick at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. NPO-47732

This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP).

Two Mechanisms to Avoid Control Conflicts Resulting from Uncoordinated Intent (reference NPO-47732) is currently available for download from the TSP library.

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